Paul George was hoping to join the Golden State Warriors before signing a four-year max contract with the 76ers, and Klay Thompson was going to be his co-captain.
George detailed the negotiations between his agent, the Warriors and possibly the Clippers on his show, “Podcast P with Paul George.”
“That was really close to being done,” George said on the podcast.
“The deal was pretty much done from what I heard, they expressed how much they wanted me there and how I would be a perfect fit with Draymond. [Green]Steph [Curry]Clay [Thompson] Probably would have remained. [Brandin] Podziemski, [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] “Wiggins.”
For George to sign with the Warriors, he would have had to pick up his $48.5 million player option with the Clippers, who would then trade him to Golden State.
George said the deal also included veteran center Kevon Looney, who is in the final year of his contract and making $8 million a year, and potentially Chris Paul.
But the Clippers had no intention of following through on messy contract negotiations.
Instead, George signed a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, while Thompson was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million contract as part of a historic six-team deal and trade.
George explained that his time with the Clippers began to unravel with mid-season contract negotiations.
He detailed that the contract he was originally offered was for two years and $60 million, calling it “kind of disrespectful” and “crazy.”
After negotiations stalled all season, the Clippers finally agreed to a three-year, $150 million deal at the start of the offseason, the same amount Kawhi Leonard received in his regular-season contract extension.
George noted that negotiations broke down over a no-trade clause that George wanted to add to his contract.
When that didn’t happen, George explained he could sign a contract with the 76ers.
George, along with “Dr. J” Julius Erving, met with Philadelphia executives and called it a “great meeting.”
The 76ers also used a recruiting video that included quotes from MLB star and Philadelphia native Mike Trout, former Giants running back Saquon Barkley, comedian Kevin Hart and artist Lil Dicky.
“I made a cool video with some guys from Philadelphia talking about Philadelphia, what the Philadelphia 76ers mean to them, and what it means to me to come to Philadelphia,” George said. “It was a cool video that really captured the energy of the city.”
